The Wasteland
by Keshi-sama
Summary: Five years after the events of Azumanga. A nuclear war has lain waste to most of the world. Those who survive hold on however they can. Product of too much Unreal Tournament, Fallout, and Azumanga. Will get around to updating eventually.
1. Prolouge, The Rain of Hell

WASTELAND

_Keshi-sama: Once again, my uncontrollable imagination has spawned a new story. So alright, here- we- go!_

PROLOGUE, The Rain of Hell

Chiyo looked up at the sun, covering her eyes from the intensity. 'This will probable be my last look at the outside...' she thought sadly. 'I wonder if everyone will be okay.' She looked back at the entrance to Facility 18 outside of Tokyo.

B-day was bound to happen soon, and only the wealth of the Mihama would save her. The conflict between the Republic and the Coalition of United Countries had finally risen to its peak, and nuclear weapons were being prepared for use. The Human Preservation Company had created machines that would freeze their inhabitant's body completely, perfectly preserving them in time. Unfortunately, these machines were hard to produce and were only available to the wealthy.

To even this out, the HPC created underground fallout shelters to protect the masses.

Chiyo was one of those few lucky enough to gain a place in the Preservation Chambers.

She had moved back to Japan shortly after the formations of the Republic and Coalition. Japan was the only non-western country not under the control of the CUC yet, and Chiyo wanted to get away from Order 9: "To protect the security of this great Republic, any and all non-Republican born inhabitant of this Republic will be subject to imprisonment, interrogation, and execution."

She had taken the last plane out of the Republic after O9 was announced. Three days after arriving, the nuclear affirmation took place. Originally, Chiyo had wanted to go with her friends into the HPC bunkers, but they told her that the Preservation Chambers were safer and, despite her protests, they signed her up for one.

Now there she stood, waiting for her pod while everyone else huddled together in unreliable bunkers.

Chiyo's thoughts were interrupted by one of the staff workers calling her name. Within twenty minutes, Chiyo was safely asleep in a Preservation Chamber, unaware of the chaos that was about to take place.

_-_-_-_-_-

_Keshi-sama: And so does our little heroine's story begin. ^Probably the shortest thing I have ever written. Reviews are welcome!_


	2. Chapter 1, Time

WASTELAND

_Keshi-sama: I do not own Azumanga Daioh, so get over it, ya technicality people!_

Chapter 1, Time

It had been five years since the bombs dropped. A slight breeze stirred sand sitting on top of a hill, causing it to blow out over the land. Small burnt shapes dotted the otherwise barren landscape. The sounds of a gun firing could be heard faintly in the distance.

Under ground in a dark bunker, one pod stayed lit despite the fact that all of the others had deactivated. A malformed creature padded its way across the floor, stopping to sniff the air around the lit pod. The timer on the front read '0:00:00:00:00:00:01'. An electric ding could be heard and the hatch on the pod popped open, releasing a cold mist into the air.

The creature hissed and retreated, startled by the noise. A small hand reached out of the pod. Chiyo pulled herself out of the cold machine, collapsing onto the floor.

A friendly voice from the machine said, "Thank you for using the Human Preservation Society Preservation Pods. It is our pleasure to keep you alive and healthy to recolonize the world."

Chiyo struggled to stand, legs wobbling under her. Her vision was blurred and the world around her swam.

The machine continued, "Please keep still. What you are most likely experiencing now is Revival Sickness. An attendant will be along shortly to see to you."

Ignoring the machine, Chiyo shuffled down the hall past dead Preservation Chambers. The poor souls who were trapped inside were rotten, long dead. A few of the pods at the end of the row were broken, the bodies missing. Chiyo came to a door at the end. A skeleton wearing a HPC uniform lay there, hand extended towards the access panel.

Chiyo grabbed the card in the corpse's hand and swiped it through the scanner. An electric ding sounded, signaling that the door was unlocked. The girl stepped through it into the next room. Her head had begun to clear and her movement was becoming less restricted, but it was still difficult to advance.

She passed a glass window showing another room full of Preservation Chambers. Chiyo stopped to look into it, inspecting the room. It seemed that hers was not the only pod still active. A few other pods were lit in that room, and all of them open._ 'There are more people here!'_ she thought happily.

Suddenly, a loud, guttural bark echoed through the rusted halls. Chiyo jumped at the noise, turning in the direction of the noise. A number of gunshots followed the bark, followed by growling and screaming. Chiyo began to run towards the sound, frightened yet curious.

As she turned a hallway, she saw an arm being dragged into a side room. A handgun lay on the floor surrounded by blood. Ignoring her gag reflex, Chiyo picked up the gun and looked into the room. A creature about the size of a human sat crouched over a fresh corpse, making grunting noises as its powerful jaws ripped into the meat.

Chiyo was startled by the beast and lay her back against the wall once more. The sounds of ripping stopped and sniffing started. The creature's growl began to sound from the room and Chiyo began to run. The creature came bounding out of the room, barking madly. Chiyo began to sprint from the creature, but it eventually began to close the distance.

The hall ended, leaving Chiyo nowhere to run. She stopped at the end and turned, getting a good look at the beast. It was large, slightly larger than a human. It had no hair to speak of, except for a mane of gray hair growing out of its neck. Large bony claws grew from its finger tips and its elbows and legs were bent backwards. Its skin was cracked and calloused, small boils growing out in some places. But the most horrifying aspect of the creature was its almost human face. Chiyo could see that the beast had definitely been human at some point. _'What could have done __**this**__?'_

Its bark brought her back to reality, causing her to raise her handgun in defense of herself. She pulled the trigger as fast as she could, emptying an entire clip into the beast.

The creature screeched and ran into the wall next to her, its motor skills damaged from the bullets embedded in its appendages. Chiyo began to run back the way she had came.

After a short time of running, she heard the creature's bark resound from behind her, but it was not alone. Another pair of barks began, causing a bestial chorus to echo through the disabled bunker. Chiyo closed her eyes and sprinted away from the noise. She seemed to be making good progress, but the problem with running with your eyes closed is that, well, you can't see.

Running as blindly as she was, Chiyo sprinted face first into a wall. A crack came from the wall and a bright light filled her vision. Her head pounded, as did the rest of her body. _'Ouch... That hurt like hell...'_ Chiyo thought, rubbing her head.

She had little time to recover, however, before the noise of the beasts' approaches grew closer. Chiyo pushed herself up and wobbled into the door next to the wall she had run into. This room held several tables and counters, long rotten food sitting on them.

Chiyo felt around by the door and pressed a switch. The sound of neglected gears came from the walls as the door slid shut. Another press of a switch and the door was locked.

The confused girl slid to the floor, thankful for the short reprieve. She sighed in relief and breathed in the stale air. The air seemed like it hadn't been changed in some time, maybe for years. Something ran down her forehead and she lifted her hand to wipe it off.

Looking at her hand, it seemed like sweat, _'Strange... It isn't that hot down here...'_ Suddenly something clicked. The air had been sitting here with no ventilation for some time, being breathed by those creatures, so... _'Oh... hell'_

Chiyo stood and looked around the room for a door. She'd been awake for... two, maybe three minutes. That gave her anywhere from three to eight minutes to get out of the bunker. She noticed a door leading out of the room and went through it, handgun ready for whatever could be waiting on the other side. Luckily, nothing was there.

Chiyo ran, weapon in hand. She passed through corridors and rooms, all with signs of carnage and neglect. It seemed she might have been the only person left alive down there.

As she was running down a corridor, she stopped to catch her breath. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Sweat poured down her forehead. She rubbed her forehead, trying to relieve herself of some of the headache that had developed. The gun in her hand shook as a tremor took her. _'It's getting worse. I've got to get the hell out of here,'_ she thought.

Chiyo turned and started to walk the way she was heading when a loud bark echoed through the halls behind her. Startled, Chiyo turned towards the noise. As she feared, a pair of the creatures were bounding down the hall towards her.

She started to run in the opposite direction through another room before finally coming to a dead end. It seemed that there was no way out. She turned and stared in dread as the two beasts closed the distance between them and her.

She opened fire with the handgun, emptying the gun into the creatures, but it had little effect on them. In a panic, she threw it at them and looked around for another weapon. _'C'mon, there must be __**something**__... wait, I recognize this room!'_

Chiyo turned to the wall behind her and saw the panel. She pressed a switch that read 'Open' and turned back to her predators. They were almost upon her. Looking around hurriedly, she noticed a skeleton with a combat knife impaled into its skull.

She drew the knife and looked to the slowly opening hatch. The wall was nerve-grindingly slow in its descent into stairdom.

Chiyo opened her mouth to voice her displeasure at the machine, but no sound was made. She had no time to react to this discovery before one of the monstrosities leaped onto her. Its jaws snapped centimeters away from her face. Only her arms protected her from the tearing teeth. Saliva dripped onto her, leaking from the wild creature.

Chiyo struggled against the mutated beast, trying to keep it away from her head. Suddenly, a sharp pain bit into her leg and she went flying from under the creature.

She slid across the floor, struggling to find a hold on the wall. Her relief came in the form of a doorway, which she grabbed and held on to. She looked at her leg, which had the second creature's teeth sunk into it. Chiyo kicked wildly at the thing's head, causing it to let go.

Chiyo pulled herself through the doorway and up against the wall, ready for whatever would come through the door after her. She heard someone yell, but she couldn't hear what it was over the roar of the hatch. Chiyo dismissed it as a case of panic and held her ground.

Her belief that it had been her imagination was destroyed as a hail of gunfire tore over the grinding of machinery. A hiss emitted from the hall and a beast ran through it past her, trailing blood on the floor behind it. A loud bark came from the room, but it soon turned into a yelp as another burst of bullets rang out.

Chiyo jumped as the creature landed halfway in the room. She heard someone laugh from the entrance room. The grinding of machinery stopped as the stairs fully latched into place.

Footsteps came closer to the door and Chiyo readied herself for her next encounter. A foot stepped carefully over the corpse of the mutant and Chiyo' s eyes widened, as did the smile on the arrivals face.

"Well, look who just woke up!"

_-_-_-_-_-

_Keshi-sama: Lookie! A cliff-hanger! Boy, I sure do love exclamation points. Reviews are welcome!_


	3. Chapter 2, Welcome to the Wastes

WASTELAND

_Keshi-sama: I do not own Azumanga Daioh, so get over it, ya technicality people!_

Chapter 2, Welcome to the Wastes

Chiyo stared at the woman standing before her. She rubbed her eyes, trying to be sure they weren't tricking her.

"Yeah, I'm really here, Chiyo-chan," Tomo said with a smile. She reached down and helped the younger girl up, who immediately latched onto her in a hug. Tears began to run down Chiyo's face. _'I'm not the only one left!"_ she thought happily.

Tomo was taken by surprise by the action, but eventually she rubbed Chiyo's head with her empty hand. The other one held a rather well-used assault rifle. She pulled Chiyo away from her and said, "Hey, c'mon. Yomi's waiting outside for us." She coughed and added, "And I sure don't want to stay down here too long." She grabbed Chiyo's hand and led her to the stairs, without noticing Chiyo's limp.

Chiyo covered her eyes from the sudden light as she approached the stairs.. Tomo laughed a little before grabbing a pair of sunglasses from her jacket and handing them to the smaller girl, who gladly put them on. Together with Tomo, Chiyo took her first steps into the Wasteland.

The terror that enveloped the world assaulted Chiyo's eyes. Where there was once grass was now sand. Trees were little more than blackened stumps. A haze covered the land, blocking her view of distant objects, but she could barely make out the shapes of Tokyo through it.

Tomo grabbed her shoulder and rubbed it. "It's alright. You'll get used to it," she said in a comforting voice, completely unlike her. A loud honking suddenly sounded out. "Let's go. Yomi's getting a little impatient."

Chiyo turned her head to see a improvised truck. It seemed to be sheets of metal strapped on to a small car chassis with an empty back. Inside sat two people, a man and a woman.

Tomo led Chiyo to the rear of the vehicle, helping her up onto the back. Chiyo looked through the glass sheet and waved to the two inside and smiled. Yomi returned the smile and waved, but the man didn't look away from the windshield.

Tomo climbed into the back and knocked on the glass, signaling that she was aboard. Chiyo finally saw how Tomo looked. She wore a dirty long-sleeved jacket to protect her from the sun, and what looked like a Kevlar vest and t-shirt underneath it. She also wore fatigues fore pants, with military boots to protect her feet. Her hair was cut as short as it was during her third year in High School, and her face was sunburned. In her gloved hand was a well-used assault rifle, and the handle of a handgun could be seen from within her jacket.

The truck slowly began to pick up speed, heading towards a ruined road. Chiyo looked at the road, expecting there to be several cars littering the way, but to her surprise, all of them were laying off to the sides.

Chiyo looked back to Tomo and motioned towards the cars. Tomo nodded and asked, "What about them?"

Chiyo opened her mouth the reply, but once again the sound was caught. "You okay?" Tomo asked, pulling herself closer to Chiyo.

The smaller girl rubbed her throat. After a few seconds, Tomo made an 'Oh' shape with her mouth and crawled over to a pack sitting along the rim. She pulled out a pad of paper and a pen and handed them to Chiyo. "Be careful with this," she said, "This stuff's hard to come by."

**(A/N: Beginning long description phase now.)**

Chiyo nodded and began to write. When she finished, she showed Tomo the paper. It read, 'How did the cars get pushed off of the road?'

Tomo sat back and swatted behind her ear. "Damn bites," she mumbled before answering, "The people from settlements all around the Waste needed a reliable trading route, so they got together and used stuff like forklifts to push all the cars out of the way. Anything else you want to know?"

'Where is everyone else?' Chiyo wrote.

Tomo sighed. "I'm guessing you're talking about our friends. Well, Kagura and Kaorin are dead. Both of them were caught in the bombs before they could get to a bunker. Osaka works at some rest stop called 'Duo's Place'. And Sakaki... well, you won't believe this, but Sakaki took charge and formed her own settlement. She's the mayor and head doctor of New Tokyo, the place where we're heading now." She looked up at the sky and down to her watch. "We've got another five minutes before we get there. Anything else?"

'What were those creatures in the bunker?' Chiyo wrote.

"Ah, those." Tomo sighed and put her hands behind her head. "You sure you want to know?"

Chiyo nodded.

Tomo let out her breath and leaned forward. "Alright, then. Those things are called the Changed. There are all sorts of them, ranging from Hounds, which were the ones you saw, to Mammoths, freaking huge ones." She made a motion with her arms to emphasize the true size of the Mammoths. "They were all humans before the bombs. From from what Sakaki's researched, they're the product of radiation."

Tomo stopped to take a breath before finishing, "There are eight different kinds of Changed, but there is also a group we call 'Uncles'. They're the ones that don't fit into any of the other types."

Chiyo wrote some more and showed it to Tomo. This time it read 'What happened to the Republic and the CUC?'

Tomo waved to the side as dismissing the two. "They died a long time ago. Around B-Day, I think. Trying to kill each other 'till the end."

'Why were you waiting for me?'

Tomo shrugged. "Yomi was keeping track of the time you were asleep. Both Sakaki and Osaka were keeping track, too. We weren't going to just let you starve down there."

'Who's that man?'

The woman laughed. "That's Mask, our Sponsor. He's not much fun, but he's good. That's more than I can say for most people, nowadays." As she finished she started looking around the Wastes, trying to see over the piled rocks.

'Sponsor?'

"Oh, that's right. We're Mercs, or Mercenaries, if you like long words. Sponsors are responsible for finding potential contracts for us. I think Mask's the... fourth one Yomi and I have had."

Chiyo rubbed her head, trying to soak everything in. After a few seconds, she wrote down a question that had been waiting since the beginning. 'How much time has passed?'

Tomo nodded, understanding the newly awakened girl's want to know how long she had been asleep. "It's been five years since you went down there, Chiyo. Five long, blood soaked years."

'So that means that you are 24?'

Tomo laughed. "Yeah, I'm 24 now. You don't look much older than 16, yourself. Guess it really did freeze you." She sighed and looked up to Chiyo. "Is it okay if I ask you something?" she asked.

Chiyo nodded, her curiosity fulfilled for now.

**(A/N: Ending long description phase now.)**

"I was wondering why you can't talk. I mean, no one else who came out of a Chamber had this problem."

Chiyo thought for a bit before writing, 'I think the Chamber I was in may have been faulty .'

"F-faulty? You mean as in, malfunctioning?" Tomo asked, a worried tone creeping into her voice.

'Yes. Is there a problem?'

"Uhh... I don't exactly know yet. Here," Tomo said, reaching into her pack and pulling out a syringe. A small amount of liquid could be seen splashing around inside after Tomo pulled off the cover, but she squirted it out over the side of the truck. She saw the worried look on Chiyo's face and replied, "Don't worry. That was a pain killer, and this needle's never been used."

Tomo scooted closer to Chiyo and asked her to hold out her arm. Chiyo did as asked, now confused. Tomo inserted the needle and withdrew some of Chiyo's blood, making the smaller girl wince.

Tomo pulled the needle back out after she had some blood. She patted the tiny hole on Chiyo's arm in an effort to comfort her. She turned to the small glass window and knocked on it, causing Mask to look back. "Open up," Tomo said to him.

The glass slid aside, allowing unmuffled conversation between the front and back of the truck. "Do a scan on this when we get home," Tomo said, handing Mask the syringe. He nodded and held it while he looked out of the window. Chiyo noticed that the man had been wearing a mask over his face, which she judged the reason he was called 'Mask'.

Tomo sat back against the side of the truck, a worried look on her face. The two sat in silence for another minute before Chiyo noticed a sound.

It was loud music blaring in the distance. She stood and looked towards it, but the haze blocked everything from view. Tomo's head perked up, showing that she had noticed it, too. "Oh shit..." she said before reaching for her assault rifle. She checked the clip and made sure the barrel wasn't jammed before yelling, "We've got Wilders, Yomi!"

"I was hoping that it would stay quiet for the rest of the trip," the bespectacled woman replied while pressing her foot down harder.

Chiyo looked at Tomo as if to ask what she should do, to which Tomo replied, "Take this and don't get shot." She withdrew the handgun from within her jacket and handed it to Chiyo.

The sound of a gun being readied in the front of the truck drew Chiyo attention. Mask had a desert eagle, shining from the state of cleanliness it was in.

Tomo looked over the side of the truck and exclaimed, "Here they come!" The music got closer, rising in volume as it did so. One could hear a chorus of excited yells just under the music.

Chiyo looked back towards the sound. Her eyes widened as she saw these 'Wilders'. A fleet of eight motorcycles was skimming across the sand towards them. The wheels of the cycles were replaced with skis and snowboards, allowing them to travel across the shifting sands more easily. They were covered with all sorts of graffiti. A few of them had battery powered CD players strapped onto the back, but most had bulging packs.

The riders were no less random. One of them wore a torn firefighter's outfit while another was covered in strapped on metal. All had one thing in common, however, and that was some sort of weapon on them.

Tomo didn't fire on the people who had begun circling them, but she did keep a watchful eye on them. The number of Wilders caused Yomi to slow down, but she did keep a steady speed.

The Wilders closed in, slowing the truck to a stop. One of the Wilders stepped off of his cycle and walked up to the driver's window. He wore what looked like an old CUC military uniform and held a handgun. He looked about 30 years old. He knocked on the window.

Yomi slid the glass aside and looked at the man. "What do you want?" she asked.

The Wilder smiled. "Looks like you've got a girl in the back who just woke up, am I right?"

"And if she did?" Yomi asked, hand inching towards the handgun tucked in between the seat and armrest.

The Wilder looked back to the others sitting on their cycles and nodded before looking back at Yomi. "Then we'd take her by force." He was raising his armed hand to fire into the truck when a loud bang sounded out.

The Wilder flew back a short distance from the truck, a large hole in the middle of his head. Mask slid the glass aside and took aim.

Most of the other Wilders immediately opened fire with their guns, but the large one wearing thick metal came running at the truck, yelling and swinging a large sledge hammer. Tomo opened fire on the charging Wilder, but most of her bullets pinged harmlessly off of his armor. A few hit, however, causing the man to yell in pain.

Yomi fired out of her window, trying to hit as many targets as she could. Chiyo's hands shook at the idea of shooting a human being. Her shock was short-lived, however, as the large man smashed his hammer into the side of the truck, making it rock slightly.

Tomo sprayed an entire clip into his armored head, dazing him. Chiyo, not wanting the truck to be destroyed, fired at the exposed points on the man. He fell to his knees and Tomo hopped off of the truck, pulling a knife from her boot. She stabbed it into the exposed neck of the man, causing blood to spray out all over her.

The large man gurgled as he fell forward. Tomo wiped the blood off of her face and headed to take cover behind a rock, but not before a bullet caught her in the shoulder. She leaned up against an inactive car, holding her shoulder.

"Dammit!" Tomo yelled, looking at the blood on her hand. That was a Razor round. She'd probably be bleeding for hours. She looked at the car she was hiding behind, noticing that it was a police car. Tomo opened the side door of the car in search of a weapon.

Chiyo ducked behind the rim of the truck, bullets colliding with the metal. Most were being stopped by it, but some pierced it and flew through her side. She swallowed and stuck her hand above the divider and opened fire in the direction of the attackers.

A satisfying yell came from one of the Wilders, but Chiyo realized that it wasn't her that shot him. Yomi had caught the man by surprise, putting a bullet into his torso.

Tomo crawled back out of the car holding a shotgun loaded with slugs. She fired at one of the Wilders, hitting him in the side. The recoil sent her back a bit, but the man was knocked over. Yomi took advantage of him being down and fired a bullet into his head.

Another desert eagle shot rang out and another dying yell joined the air. Chiyo's confidence rose and she rose above the metal divider. She could see her targets now, and her shots were more accurate. She even managed to wound a woman with a rifle.

"C'mon!" Yomi yelled to Tomo. Tomo climbed back into the truck while Yomi and Chiyo provided covering fire. Yomi sped away from the battleground as soon as Tomo was in the back. Bullets cut through the air as the four escaped.

Chiyo sighed in relief and looked at Tomo, noticing the bleeding hole in her arm. She stood ,reached into the pack and pulled out a first aid kit. She crawled over to Tomo and pulled out supplies. Tomo tried to resist, insisting that she was fine, but Chiyo continued to treat the wound.

Tomo gave up and let her do it, looking down. She noticed that Chiyo's leg was red and had Hound teeth sized scars on it. _'That's weird,'_ Tomo thought. Chiyo had only been awake for a short time, so it would have been impossible for her to have scars from any Changed so soon.

She sighed, this evidence further ensuring her thoughts.

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_Keshi-sama: A little bit background and a little bit combat. Hope ya enjoyed! Reviews are welcome!_


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